The present invention pertains to a headrest which is attachable to the upper end of the back of a chair used in operatories such as those employed by various segments of the medical profession, including dentistry. A chair for an operatory of such type specifically is an article of furniture. The current trend in regard to professional furniture of many types is to render the same more comfortable as well as more efficient in use. To achieve this objective, there has been considerable effort expended in recent years in the upholstery applied to operatory chairs, and the addition of upholstery to headrests employed on such chairs also has been undertaken but has created certain problems, particularly in the area of mechanism by which the angular position of the headrest with respect to the chair back is achieved and maintained when a desired position has been reached.
Among the attempts previously undertaken to provide comfort in a headrest designed for an operatory chair are the structures comprising the subject matter of the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,642, to Laessker, dated Sept. 7, 1971, discloses a padded or upholstered headrest which is angularly adjustable about a horizontal axis, the adjustment being effected by a manually operated pushbutton disposed only at one side of the headrest. In modern operatory techniques, it is quite common to not only have the doctor or dentist adjust the headrest but the same also quite frequently is adjusted by the assistant to the doctor or dentist. Depending upon the side where the doctor, dentist or assistant is located at the time an adjustment is needed, it may be that the individual making the adjustment will have to move to the opposite side of the chair to undertake the adjustment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,388, to Fortnam, dated Mar. 6, 1973, discloses an upholstered headrest having a ball and socket supporting arrangement, and adjustment is effected by means of a manually operated handle extending only from one side of the headrest, whereby this structure has the same requirements of operation as the Laessker patent referred to above.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,151, to Cadiou, dated May 28, 1974, discloses an adjustable headrest attached to the upper end of the back of a seat for a vehicle in which the headrest is pivoted about a horizontal axis but adjustment is effected by a manually operable knob exposed adjacent one side of the headrest only, whereby the same is incapable of operation from both sides of the headrest.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,576, to Ciavattoni, dated June 18, 1974, also shows a dental chair with a pivotally adjustable headrest in which the adjustment is maintained by a centrally disposed, angular finger which must be positioned selectively in one of a row of slots in order to secure the same in a desired position of adjustment.
Especially for purposes of providing structurally strong and easily operated positioning mechanism for an angularly adjustable headrest at the upper end of the back of an operatory chair and particularily to render the operation of the headrest equally from either side thereof, the present invention has been developed and details thereof are described hereinafter, as follows.